I Want to Never Have Slow Internet Again

Ethernet internet cable next to a snail — Kerdkanno/Shutterstock

There are many reasons your Cyberspace connectedness might appear slow. It could be a problem with your modem or router, Wi-Fi point, betoken strength on your cable line, devices on your network saturating your bandwidth, or even a slow DNS server. These troubleshooting steps will assistance you lot pivot down the cause.

Narrow Down the Problem With Multiple Websites and Devices

If your speed examination confirms your internet is tedious, you should endeavor connecting to multiple websites and using multiple devices in your home if your Net connectedness is deadening. If the slowness is just with one website, it's probably that website'south problem—not your internet's. At that place'southward not actually annihilation you lot can do about this except look for the people in charge of the website to fix information technology.

Narrowing downwardly where the problem lies will help y'all set up it. Does the slowness only happen on 1 computer, or all your devices? If it's just 1 computer, you know the solution probably lies in that location. You may just take to reboot the computer, or you may need to perform a malware browse with your preferred antivirus to check that everything is fine. If the slowness happens on multiple devices—multiple computers, for example, or your reckoner and your telephone—then it's well-nigh certainly a network problem, and yous'll have to get to your router.

Check Your Speed and Compare It to Your Plan

Internet speed test results

RELATED: How to Exam Your Cyberspace Connection Speed or Cellular Data Speed

Before going through a bunch of troubleshooting on your finish, it's worth running a speed test using a website like Speedtest.net to see how well information technology's actually performing. Be certain to stop any downloads, uploads, Netflix streaming, or other heavy internet action before running the test to ensure as little interference with the results as possible.

Compare the measured speed results against the expected speed of the Net connectedness you're paying for. If you don't know this, there'south a good chance you can find it on the bill for your Internet connection or your Internet service provider's website.

RELATED: Why You Probably Aren't Getting the Internet Speeds You're Paying For (and How to Tell)

There are some caveats here. Speed tests may sometimes appear rather high, as some Internet service providers may prioritize them and they may have servers very close to yous. If your connection speed appears a bit low, that can be normal—you generally pay for "upwards to" a certain speed and you lot don't always go the exact speed you pay for. Speeds may as well be slower at busier times of the day, when everyone in your neighborhood is using the Internet connection, than at off hours when many people are sleeping or at work.

Of course, it could also just be that yous pay for a very tedious net plan—in which instance y'all'll need to call your net provider and pay more to upgrade your service!

However, if you're paying for a certain connection speed and consistently receive speed test results that are well beneath that, it's time to move to the troubleshooting steps below.

Reboot Your Modem and Router

Make sure the power cable is securely plugged into your network equipment — trainman111/Shutterstock

Like computers, modems and routers sometimes become stuck in a bad, boring, overloaded state. This problem can be fixed with a reboot. If you oasis't rebooted your router and modem in a while, yous should do it now.

If yous have a combined modem/router unit, you may merely have one device to reboot. But there's a good chance you need to reboot two pieces of hardware: the router and the modem. The router connects to the modem, which is connected to the cable coming out of the wall. To reboot them, unplug each from their corresponding ability outlets for 10 seconds earlier plugging them back in. Information technology may take a few minutes for your modem to reconnect to your Internet service provider and bring your Internet connectedness online, so exist patient. Cheque if your speed improves afterward the reboots.

RELATED: Why Rebooting Your Router Fixes So Many Issues (and Why Y'all Take to Wait 10 Seconds)

Improve Your Wi-Fi Signal

closeup of a wireless router and a young man using a smartphone on living room at home with a window in the background — Casezy idea/Shutterstock

It's possible your internet is fine, but your Wi-Fi—which connects you to the internet—is having point problems. A bad Wi-Fi connection can seem like an Internet connexion trouble, especially since information technology can touch on all the devices in your home. In that location are quite a few reasons yous may accept a bad Wi-Fi signal. The airwaves could be congested with besides many devices nearby, particularly if y'all're using 2.4 GHz and not v GHz, which can support a lot more devices. This is a particularly mutual trouble in denser urban areas—for example, if you live in an flat complex with neighbors who have a bunch of wireless routers and other devices.

Y'all could also just have a expressionless zone, something interfering with your Wi-Fi signal, or poor converage throughout your home. Consult our guide to speeding up your Wi-Fi and getting a better betoken for more than tips.

If you have a larger home or yard and need ameliorate Wi-FI coverage, consider getting a mesh Wi-Fi system that provides multiple base stations you can place effectually your home or holding.

RELATED: How To Go a Better Wireless Indicate and Reduce Wireless Network Interference

Stop Saturating Your Connection (or Endeavor QoS)

Check which devices are saturating your network

Your Internet connexion is shared past all the devices in your dwelling house, so other devices on your network could be saturating your Internet connection, slowing things downwardly for everyone else.

For example, if ii people are streaming Netflix and one person is trying to download a file with BitTorrent, everyone's experience volition slow downwardly. Stop (or tiresome downwards) some of those other downloads to speed things up.

RELATED: How to Utilise Quality of Service (QoS) to Get Faster Internet When Y'all Actually Need It

If this is a particularly frequent problem, you may have to upgrade your internet parcel. However, you tin can also see if your router has a Quality of Service (QoS) feature, which will let your router to automatically manage and assign how much bandwidth different devices and services receive. For example, it tin automatically throttle BitTorrent bandwidth to avoid slowing down Netflix streams.

Cheque for Coax Splitters

Splitter for connecting coaxial TV cable on white background — Valiik30/Shutterstock

If you have cable Internet and you have coaxial cablevision splitters on the line going to your cablevision modem, these could be degrading your indicate forcefulness and leading to slower Internet connection. Splitters vary in quality, and a bad, cheap one could lower your signal force much more than than a college quality one would. A large number of splitters could cause a trouble, as well.

If yous do have splitters on your cablevision line, try disconnecting them to troubleshoot your Net connectedness. See how your Internet connexion performs without any splitters on the line. If you have a much faster Internet connection speed, you lot've found your problem.

RELATED: How to Troubleshoot Your Net Connection, Layer-By-Layer

Try Another DNS Server

In some cases, switching DNS servers can help speed up your apparent connection speed if your default Internet service provider DNS servers are slow.

Here'due south how DNS works: When you connect to a website similar google.com, your computer contacts its DNS servers and asks "What numerical IP address is associated with google.com?" It gets an answer dorsum and connects to that IP address, which may exist something like 216.58.193.78 and then connects to that address.

Typically, your DNS servers are provided past your Internet service provider. But, if they're slow or overloaded, y'all may be able to get improve speed by switching to another set of DNS servers. Google Public DNS and OpenDNS are both pretty popular.

RELATED: The Ultimate Guide to Irresolute Your DNS Server

Call Your Internet access provider and Report the Problem

Close up of a man using mobile smart phone — file404/Shutterstock

If you lot've run through all these troubleshooting steps and tin't ready the trouble, at that place's a skilful adventure it'southward not a trouble you lot can ready. Information technology may be your Internet service provider's problem. For example, at that place may exist a problem with the cable line running from your house to your Internet access provider, or with some other equipment they take. In this case, you should call your Net service provider and report the problem.

Y'all're paying your Internet service provider to provide a stable conneciton, and it's their job to fix any problems with it on their end. Simply exist sure it'due south actually their trouble, and not a problem on your end—like Wi-Fi signal issues.